Scavenger Hunt
by Imaginary Queens
Summary: “I have prepared a little game, a scavenger hunt you might say, only instead of winning a prize, the winners will not get detention, whereas the losers will receive a week’s worth of detention. In the dungeons. With Professor Snape.” Ships: DMxHP, BZxHG..
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **"I have prepared a little game, a scavenger hunt you might say, only instead of winning a prize, the winners will not get detention, whereas the losers will receive a week's worth of detention. In the dungeons. With Professor Snape."

**Disclaimer: **We don't own any of the characters. They belong to J. K. Rowling. We only own the plot!

**Authors:** DanishGirl (Kira) and Savage-Lilly (Sabrina).

**Pairings:** Draco/Harry, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Pansy, and possibly more couples.

**A/N: **This story will contain slash, so if you do not like male/male, please hit the little X in the right corner or the back-button.

Now, all there is left to say is; "Enjoy!"

¤Pulls the red curtain up – giggles¤

_This fic is x-posted on ImaginaryQueens at GreatestJournal(dot)com_

**SCAVENGER HUNT  
CH. 1**

Despite summer supposedly being in its dying throes, this particular day was warm and sunny. Grasshoppers chirruped softly, creating a gentle harmony to accompany the birds' many varied songs. Every now and then a gentle breeze would stir and the trees would sway enthusiastically in response, lifting their branches and spreading all the leaves so it could pass between. It was a whole other world, so vast and intriguing, but which humans so infrequently took the time to witness.

The Giant Squid would once in a while come to the surface of the lake and gaze around, as if looking for something, before disappearing again, down to the depths of the deep blue waters. Its freedom had been somewhat restricted since the start of term, due in no small part to the hot weather and, consequently, the numerous students seeking relief in the perpetually cool water of his home. But, for the moment at least, he had his domain back.

The first classes of the afternoon had just started, and whilst most students were already seated, writing down notes, there were others still waiting for their teachers to arrive.

Blaise Zabini, a sixth year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was sitting in the Potions classroom, waiting tiredly for Snape to arrive so he could separate the Golden trio of Potter, Weasley and Granger from Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Yet again...

Blaise looked at Malfoy and sighed. When would he stop fighting with the 'Boy-Who-Lived'? It was so obvious to everyone that their fights were merely suppressed hormones. How long was it going to take before they actually admitted it?

Blaise turned his attention to Granger. She still had that bushy hair, and right now it looked like a wind- ravaged bird's nest. Probably because Pansy had moments ago pulled it violently, making the Gryffindor girl scream. Granger had promptly twisted around and returned the favour, pulling at Pansy's hair as hard as she could. Blaise rolled his eyes at this childish behaviour. Wasn't it about time they grew up? It seemed to him at times that things were, in fact, getting _worse!_

"Get off me, you Weasel!" Draco yelled suddenly, getting everybody's attention in the room.

Blaise noticed Crabbe and Goyle sitting not far away, clearly confused about what they should do. Draco pushed Weasley away from him, making the red-haired Gryffindor stumble across the room. He fell against Blaise's desk. Blaise instinctively tried to catch him before he hit the ground, but Weasley, being a stubborn ass as always, tried to push Blaise away. Blaise, his fist bunched in Weasley's robes, toppled from his chair, and landed with a thump on top of Weasley.

'Why did I even bother?' he thought, sneering at the Gryffindor lying beneath him.

"Ron!" Granger was on the other side of the room, trying to reach her friend but being held back by Pansy.

Blaise saw how Draco and Potter were exchanging evil glares, completely oblivious of everyone else. They were too caught up in each other.

"You'll pay for that," threatened Harry, narrowing his eyes. Malfoy could have hurt Ron, pushing him like that. Harry wanted nothing more than to throttle him. He clenched his fingers repeatedly at his sides. His hands itched for some contact with Malfoy's neck.

"Get off me!" yelled Ron, trying desperately to get up. Blaise turned his eyes back to him. "Are you deaf?" Ron snarled, when the Slytherin didn't budge. "I said-" But Ron never finished. Blaise pushed away gracefully.

"Here, let me help you up," he said, holding out a hand, waiting for Weasley to take it. Ron narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at the dark-haired Slytherin for a few seconds before grasping his hand. Just as Ron found his feet again, the door burst open.

"I have had ENOUGH!" yelled a very angry Snape. Everyone jumped, even Draco looked startled. Snape stood in the doorway, his eyes shining with pure malice.

"You lot," he seethed, his finger swinging from Potter and Draco, to Pansy and Granger before settling on Blaise and Weasley. "Go to Dumbledore's office, now!"

"But sir!" protested a confused Blaise. "I didn't do anything. I was only helping-"

"No buts!" Snape bellowed, his eyes glittering red with anger. "GO!"

"But-"

"Do you have a problem with your hearing, Mr. Zabini?" snarled Snape.

Blaise sighed. Great. Now he'd been dragged into all this, thanks to that Weasel.

Hermione saw Zabini sigh in defeat as she passed him. She wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for him or not. True, he hadn't done anything wrong. But he was a Slytherin, and they usually deserved what they got.

The six of them walked together to the staircase leading up to the Headmaster's office. For the whole way, they had to endure Harry and Draco arguing about whose fault it was. Naturally, they blamed each other. Hermione rolled her eyes. What did it matter whose fault it was? They may as well just face up to their punishment and get on with it.

Pansy overheard Ron mumbling something about Snape being the biggest git ever to walk the face of the earth. She pulled a face at him and then groaned. "I really don't have time for this today," she said. "I have more important things to do."

"What? Like painting your nails?" Ron sneered.

"Sod off, weasel boy," Pansy snapped back at him.

"Oh, my mistake _princess_. I'm sure finding a cure for cancer would be high on your list of priorities too," retorted Ron, sarcastically.

"Oh, would you all just shut up," said Hermione, who had finally had enough of all the fighting.

They continued in silence until they all came to a halt in front of the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Um, guys... sorry for stating the obvious, but we don't have the password," said Harry, but no sooner had the words left his lips than the ugly creature sprang to life and leapt aside, revealing the revolving staircase. For a moment, the three Gryffindors and three Slytherins stared at the staircase, then they all jumped on. Albus Dumbledore opened the door to his office himself, beaming at them from behind his glasses as they came to a halt before him.

"I was expecting you. Please, come inside," he said, gesturing for them to enter his office. As Harry passed by him, he thought how funny it was that Dumbledore always seemed to have a faint scent of lemon drops around him.

"I hear from Professor Snape that once again you have been fighting." He peered at them with a solemn expression on his face. "A number of the teachers have complained of similar behaviour, Professor Snape in particular, and therefore I feel that I must take action to put an end to it."

"Snape, that arrogant git," said Ron under his breath, although everyone heard it and he received a number of glares from the gathered Slytherins.

"Thank you for that contribution, MrWeasley, but I must insist that you do not speak of a professor in that manner," said the Headmaster firmly. "At least not in my office," he added, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Throughout the years there has always been some house rivalry, but never has it gotten to the point where the Headmaster has been forced to intervene." Dumbledore cleared his throat and then continued. "After much deliberation, I have decided on a way to hopefully remedy your problems with each other."

The Headmaster appeared very serious, yet Harry thought that Dumbledore's crinkled eyes suggested that he was up to something. Dumbledore's quickly hidden half-smile confirmed Harry's suspicion.

"I have prepared a little game, a scavenger hunt you might call it. The winners shall escape punishment for their recent behaviour. However, the losers will receive a week's worth of detention." Now he smiled openly. "In the dungeons. With Professor Snape." The six students stood before him all burst into cries of dissatisfaction when Dumbledore added that last part.

"Now, now..." said the Headmaster, hushing them to silence. "You have my word that this game will not be at all boring. In fact, I am almost certain that you will find yourself having a good time, if you allow yourselves to that is. You will be divided into pairs – one from each house of course..." Again the cries of dissatisfaction, but this time Dumbledore ignored them. "Let's see... Mr Zabini, you can partner Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, you will be with Miss Parkinson, which leaves Mr Potter with Mr Malfoy." Dumbledore surveyed them all with a smile.

The students all glared disapprovingly at their respective partner. But despite the fact that they were each stuck with the person they liked the least, they all seemed to share a common will to win this thing. After all, detention with Professor Snape was not exactly a favourite activity, even among Slytherins.

"Each pair will receive a clue," Dumbledore continued. "This clue will lead you to the next clue, and so on. For each clue you solve you will be given a letter. You must remember all the letters you acquire because you will need them later on. The first pair to reach the final destination will win, naturally."

Blaise had to admit to himself that he was quite impressed by Dumbledore's little game. In fact, he was kind of glad that he _had_ been pulled into all this after all. 'The only down side,' he thought, 'is that I've been partnered with Weasley.' Blaise decided to try and make the best of it though. After all, he was not exactly eager to spend a week's worth of detention with Professor Snape. It wasn't that he didn't like Professor Snape, how could he not like him? He always favoured the Slytherins, but he never went easy on them. If anything, he was perhaps harder on the members of his own house because he expected so much of them.

"You will begin immediately. Find your partners please," Dumbledore said, smiling innocently. Hermione couldn't help but smile too at this comment. It sounded so much like they were expected to dance with each other.

Harry ignored the furious look that Malfoy bestowed on him, as if he was to blame for this whole escapade. "You'd better get over here Potter, 'cause I am _not_ moving for you," muttered Malfoy darkly, his eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

"Yeah, yeah, Malfoy," said Harry, in a bored tone. He would not hit Malfoy in front of Dumbledore, although he couldn't be so certain once they were alone. He forced his arms to stay down at his sides, instead of reaching out to grip Malfoy round his neck, like they really, _really_ itched to do.

He imagined his slender fingers, sunkissed from all the Quidditch practise he did, against the deliciously creamy white skin of his adversary...

As soon as the thought materialised in his head, he shuddered with disgust. What the heck had had made him think that! He looked swiftly around but no one seemed to have noticed the red flush in his cheeks. Harry shook his head to clear the unwelcome image and slowly crossed the room to stand beside the blonde.

Pansy smiled smugly and turned to Hermione. "You heard Draco, Granger. That goes for me too, so you'd better get your ass over here."

But while Hermione and Harry were both prepared to indulge their Slytherin partners' ideas of superiority, if only for the time being, Ron stayed firmly where he was, not moving at all. He looked at Zabini, his lips pressed so tightly together that they formed thin white lines.

"Jeez, Weasley," said Blaise, chuckling as he moved towards him.

"Okay, are you all ready to start?" Dumbledore asked. "Good... Then let's begin."

A folded piece of paper appeared in front of each pair. Harry quickly snatched his and Malfoy's out of the air, and couldn't resist sticking out his tongue when Draco scowled.

"Oh, that's very mature Potter," Malfoy sneered, before snatching the paper from Harry's hands.

"What did you do that for, you-!" demanded Harry, trying to get it back. Malfoy held it away from him.

"Ahem... Boys?"

Harry and Draco both turned to look at the Headmaster. "What?" Draco sneered.

"Maybe you should both make a concerted effort to get along. Or else you will lose. Take a look around," he added, when both Harry and Draco looked at him blankly. They looked around. The others had already left.

"Great Potter, just bloody great!" said Draco, opening the paper to read the first enigma.

"_To solve the riddle from Snape,  
You must access his private escape,  
Once you're there, you need to find,  
Something that Snape has left behind.  
You have to look for something nice,  
Something with a scent of sugar and spice.  
It is not big, it is not small,  
It is hidden behind a secret wall."_

**A/N:** So, did you like it? Hate it? Review and let us know! A cookie to those who figure out the enigma ¤winks¤

Thanks to our wonderful Beta: Jenova, for helping us with our grammar and spelling mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **"I have prepared a little game, a scavenger hunt you might say, only instead of winning a prize, the winners will not get detention, whereas the losers will receive a week's worth of detention. In the dungeons. With Professor Snape."

**Disclaimer: **We don't own any of the characters. They belong to J. K. Rowling. We only own the plot!

**Authors:** DanishGirl (Kira) and Savage-Lilly (Sabrina).

**Pairings:** Draco/Harry, Hermione/Blaise, Ron/Pansy, and possibly more couples.

**A/N: **This story will contain slash, so if you do not like male/male, please hit the little X in the right corner or the back-button.

_This fic is x-posted on ImaginaryQueens at GreatestJournal(dot)com_

**SCAVENGER HUNT**

CH. 2 

"Read it again," said Pansy thoughtfully, leaning over Hermione's shoulder to get a better view of the riddle. They were sitting on a staircase a few corridors from the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Hermione had just read their riddle aloud for the first time, after making sure that the boys weren't around to overhear.

"_To find the clue from McGonagall,  
__You need to find page hundred-and-twelve.  
__Any book will not do,  
__It has to be a certain two."_

"Okay, so we need to find a book that belongs to McGonagall?" asked Pansy, clearly confused.

Hermione brushed away a wisp of hair from her face and tried to see if she could recall two books of McGonagall's which could be the books the riddle was referring to. She had been allowed to peruse them many times, and had even read the vast majority, but none came to mind. McGonagall had hundreds of books, if not thousands. It was impossible for her to pick out just two from McGonagall's huge collection. Hermione sighed. This appeared to be a bit more complicated than what she had first thought.

"Yeah," she said finally. "Well, two books. I think that's what the riddle means."

Pansy nodded. Her mind was completely blank, but she didn't want Hermione to think she was stupid. She examined her hands carefully, something which she usually did when she didn't know what to do, or was extremely bored.

'Hmmm, I really need a manicure,' she thought absently, peering closely at her fingers to inspect the damage to her nail polish.

"Pansy," said Hermione, giving the Slytherin girl a stern look.

Pansy waved it off casually. She always tried to focus on things but she couldn't help being a _true_ aristocrat, could she? She had certain standards to live up to, and being intelligent wasn't high on that list. Intelligent was dull, as Granger demonstrated perfectly. No, she had better things to concern herself with. Like being expected to look good.

No one would deny the fact that she was a beautiful girl... Well, except for the Gryffindors, who always seemed to refer to her as 'Pansy Pug-Face' or something equally derogatory. A beautiful girl with an attitude problem, but a beautiful girl nevertheless. Her shiny dark hair framed her face to perfection, and her hazel eyes could spellbind you if she really wanted to. Every girl had her secret weapons, and these were hers.

Secret weapons that she wouldn't mind putting to use on a certain red haired Gryffindor. Not that she was ever going to admit that to anyone else...

"Do you think we should search her office?" she asked, after several minutes of silence.

"No... No, I don't think so," Hermione replied, staring intently at the piece of paper in her hands as if the answer was somehow going to magically appear. "Dumbledore would never let students roam around inside the teachers' offices. Maybe we should try the Transfiguration classroom. The books might be there." Hermione smiled, glad that they had a plan. Or at least something remotely close to a plan. It made sense, didn't it? Dumbledore would never encourage, the students to break into a teacher's private chambers. Would he?

Meanwhile, on the side end of the castle, Ron and Blaise were trying to figure out the enigma from Professor Vector. They were in the Arithmancy classroom, where Ron, in particular, felt a bit out of place. There was shelf after shelf, crammed with books full of arithmetic 'things' that Ron didn't know anything about, nor did he wish to. Blaise on the other hand felt quite comfortable in this room. Arithmancy was one of the subjects he was studying.

"So, what was it the riddle said again?" asked Ron, looking at Blaise, "I mean, what were we supposed to look for in here?"

Blaise recited the riddle.

"_This time the answer you will find,  
__Only if you use your mind.  
__Solve the riddle of Arithmancy you must,  
__Or else the letter will be lost."_

"Great, just great!" said Ron under his breath. "We're never going to solve this thing."

"Of course we aren't, unless you're willing to make an effort," mocked Blaise, and was about to continue when Ron suddenly groaned aloud.

He'd just noticed the many seemingly random numbers on the blackboard. "That's the reason I never chose Arithmancy!" he said, picking up a book from one of the desks. 'Plato's Theory of Numerology' he read with a shudder.

"Hmm... This looks oddly familiar," said Blaise contemplatively, tapping his lips with his finger. Ron turned around and saw that Blaise was standing in front of the blackboard.

"Familiar? What do you mean?" asked Ron. Blaise glanced back at him.

"Well, I do actually take this class, Weasley, and unlike some people, I pay attention." He smirked.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said and walked across the room to one of the windows. When he looked out, he saw students streaming from the castle. 'I guess it's break time,' he thought. He wished he wasn't stuck in here with Zabini, forced to complete, and win, this scavenger thing to avoid spending the rest of the week stuck in the dungeons with Snape.

"Okay, there are ten numbers on the board; 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89," said Blaise, scratching the back of his head.

Ron, who had gotten quite bored by now, completely ignored him and continued to look out of the window. 'I wonder where Hermione and Harry are right this moment,' he thought.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Blaise triumphantly.

Ron whirled around and glared at him. "Well, then _genius_," he said, emphasising 'genius' sarcastically, "tell me!"

"It's the numbers of Fibonacci."

"Oh." Of course, Ron had absolutely no idea what Blaise was talking about, but he wasn't about to let him know that.

"Fibonacci was a Muggle scientist from the 13th century. His sequence consists of numbers where each one equals the two previous numbers," said Blaise, smiling smugly.

"Well then, what now?" asked Ron. "I thought the answer was supposed to be a letter..."

"Yeah, you've got a point there," said Blaise, glancing down at the riddle that he was holding in his hand. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and looked at Ron. "Do you have a quill?"

"Um, no," Ron replied, not exactly getting where Blaise was going with this. "But maybe there's one in here." He turned to Professor Vector's desk and opened the drawers one by one until he found a quill and some ink. "Here."

He watched as Blaise wrote down 'Fibonacci' on the paper. They both stared at it. The word disappeared and in its place appeared a letter.

N

And shortly after, the next riddle also appeared.

'_Professor Hooch says, 'Go outside,'  
__This is where the answer hides.  
__To find it you must be on top,  
__Lightning you must be able to stop.'_

While Blaise and Ron made their way outside the castle, Harry and Draco were in the dungeons – arguing as always.

"This is a complete waste of time! And it's all your fault, Potter!" said Draco angrily. The two boys were standing in a corridor in the dungeons, not far from the Potions classroom and Professor Snape's private chambers.

"You're just in a bad mood because Snape sent you to Dumbledore too!" retorted Harry, and smirked. "Seems to me that Snape has finally given up on you. I suppose you're just not Slytherin material anymore."

Draco paled more than he already was and his lips tightened into a thin line. "Oh, Potter, you are so going to regret that!" he said, in a dangerously calm voice.

"Really? And what exactly are you going to do?"

"I am going to make sure I win this thing." Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And somewhere along the way, I am going to get you into so much trouble, you'll get detention anyway!" He hesitated. "Or maybe we should just lose anyway, it'll be worth it to see you suffer for a week." He grinned. "There's no way that Snape would give up on me! He just sent me to the Headmaster so nobody could accuse him of favouritism."

"Right, keep telling yourself that, Malfoy! Everybody already knows how that sorry excuse for an overgrown bat favours you Slytherins," snapped Harry, taking a step towards Malfoy.

"Is that so? Well, you can't blame him, can you? Look what you've got... only a nutcase of a Gryffindor could have made up this stupid scavenger hunt!" Draco retaliated, never taking his eyes of Harry.

The two boys stood in complete silence, staring directly into each other's eyes.

It was Harry who broke the silence. "We should figure out this riddle thing," he said shortly, his eyes lingering on Malfoy's for the briefest of moments until he turned away and crossed to the other side of the corridor.

"Right," said Draco, mostly to himself. _Intense._ "..something that Snape has left behind," he quoted.

"The only things that Snape has left behind are his sense of humour and his shampoo," stated Harry, and was surprised when the blonde Slytherin didn't snap at him.

"Hmm, I think you might be onto something there, Potter..."

"Oh, so you agree that Snape is a humourless git?" said Harry sarcastically, and leaned his shoulder against the cold stone wall.

"No, I meant about the shampoo," replied Draco through gritted teeth. Harry had to laugh at that.

"I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? 'something with a scent of sugar and spice'..." Draco was about to continue when Harry broke him off.

"But wouldn't that mean we'd have to break into Snape's private chambers?" he asked. Just the mere thought of touching something that belonged to Snape made his skin crawl. Although, Snape had probably never touched the bottle more than once.

"Yes, it would. Seems like Dumbledore wants to see us both dead, huh?" said Draco with grim humour.

Harry cleared his throat nervously. "Okay, well then, we'd better get this over with... Got any idea how we're going to get in to his chamber?"

"Of course I do," said Draco, smirking, "I know exactly how to get in there." Harry looked at Draco curiously and wondered what he meant.

At that precise moment, Hermione and Pansy were in the Transfiguration classroom, going through the many books that belonged to Professor McGonagall. The two girls were standing in opposite corners of the classroom behind McGonagall's desk, each with their nose buried in a tome. Books were piled neatly all around them.

"Ugh, this is hopeless! We don't even know what we're looking for," exclaimed Pansy and threw the book she was holding onto the floor.

Hermione turned to look at her with a pained expression. "I know, but we can't give up." She rubbed her tired eyes. "We have to think!" she said, mainly to herself. "Okay, let's see... page 112... two books.." She looked at the floor. "And Dumbledore is behind this... And he was once a Transfiguration teacher here. Hmm..." She glanced at Pansy. "Do you know if Dumbledore ever wrote any books on Transfiguration?" Pansy shrugged and shook her head.

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Of course, you don't,' she thought. 'Whatever made me think you would?' She took out her wand. "Well, maybe this will work..." she said. "Accio Albus Dumbledore books."

As soon as the words left her lips, several books came hurtling towards her. She held out her arms, partly in defence, partly in a hopeless attempt to catch them all, but was knocked over by their force. Pansy let out a giggle as Hermione collapsed in a heap on the floor, completely buried beneath books. Once she was certain the deluge was over, she struggled to her feet. "I'm okay," she said, brushing the dust from her clothes.

Pansy was openly laughing now.

"Oh ha-ha," said Hermione, sarcastically. She bent down to sort through the books. When Pansy didn't make a move, she looked up at her. "Don't worry, you don't have to help!"

After a minute or so, Pansy walked over to the pile of books that Hermione was now sat beside. She supposed it would be quicker with both of them looking. She dropped to the floor on the opposite side and reached for one.

"What the..?" exclaimed Hermione, several minutes later. She grabbed a book from the pile. "'The Art of Transfiguring Lemons – Part One'," she read aloud. Pansy giggled.

"Well, this has to be the one, doesn't it?" said Hermione enthusiastically. "I mean, if there's a part one, then there has to be a part two."

"Here it is," said Pansy, and handed Hermione a book of the same title but 'Part Two'. Hermione opened both books to page one hundred and twelve. The Gryffindor and the Slytherin watched as the text slowly vanished, and the letter N appeared on both pages.

"Cool," said Pansy.

"Yeah, but why are there two N's? I mean, why not just one book and one N?" said Hermione contemplatively.

"Who cares?" said Pansy. "What now? How do we get the next riddle?" They sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering the answer to that question. Pansy started flicking through the pages in the book 'The Art of Transfiguring Lemons – Part One', and suddenly a piece of folded parchment fell out. Hermione picked it up.

"What's this?" she wondered, unfolding it. "Uh, I think it's the next riddle, listen –

_'To solve the riddle from Snape,  
__You must access his private escape,  
__Once you're there, you need to find,  
__Something that Snape has left behind.  
__You have to look for something nice,  
__Something with a scent of sugar and spice.  
__It is not big, it is not small,  
__It is hidden behind a secret wall.'"_

"Great, just great," said Pansy when Hermione had finished. Hermione looked at the Slytherin and nodded in agreement.

Down in the dungeons, Harry and Draco were about to have a shot at breaking into Snape's office. Draco had said that he knew exactly how to get in, but Harry wasn't sure he believed him. The Gryffindor wanted to see some proof first.

"Well then, let's see what you've got," said Harry, folding his arms and smirking.

"Brace yourself, Potter," said Malfoy and pointed his wand at the door. "Runespoor!"

As soon as Draco had said the password, the door clicked and swung open, leaving Harry gaping.

"How did you-?"

"I am a Slytherin Prefect, aren't I?" said Draco. He entered Snape's office. Harry followed behind.

Harry had seen Professor Snape's office many times, mainly due to the Occlumency lessons he'd received in his fifth year, but he was still as unnerved as ever by all the jars that contained odd creatures, and liquids in varying shades of vomit. And then there was that weird smell of chemicals and mould. It all made Harry very uncomfortable.

Draco crossed to a large wooden door in the opposite wall. Again, he pointed his wand at the door. "Contra Veritas." The door swung open.

"Okay, I get that you know the password to Snape's office, but to his private chambers too?" said Harry sceptically.

"Well, um, I was actually in here this morning, before classes." Draco explained, very quietly. "I needed to borrow a book for a Potions project, and I overheard the password when Snape went to his private chambers to get it." His cheeks had turned slightly pink.

Neither of them really knew what to say now, so after a few moments of silence, Draco turned on his heel and hurried into the room behind Snape's office. Harry trailed after him, pondering Draco's embarrassment.

Snape's quarters weren't anything anyone would have imagined. The room wasn't dank and murky, or filled with half empty potions bottles and filthy cauldrons. Instead, it was elegantly decorated in black and a dark shade of green. Everything seemed to be nice and tidy, and in fact, quite cosy. There were many shelves filled with books on Potions and in the centre of the room was a very impressive green leather sofa. Harry also noticed a beautiful chess set, made of what appeared to be crystal, in the corner. There weren't any windows, which perhaps explained Snape's sallow complexion, but the room was lit with several candles and a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Come on, it has to be in here somewhere," said Draco and disappeared into another room. Harry followed him, passing a door on the way that was ajar. He caught a glimpse of the room beyond. It contained a huge black four poster bed with curtains in the same shade of green that the rest of his chambers were decorated in.

"Okay, so where do you think he keeps his shampoo?" asked Harry when he entered the bathroom. Snape's bathroom, too, was impressive. The floor was covered with black tiles, so shiny you could see your own reflection in them. There was a beautiful black bathtub with silver legs that had snakes entwined around them. The walk-in shower had walls covered with the same shiny, black tiles on the floor; even the sink was black, with a single silver tap, and above it hung a huge mirror with a silver frame.

"In one of the cupboards?" suggested Draco, pointing towards the two cupboards next to the sink.

"Right, it's not like he'd keep it in the shower, where normal people do," Harry said to himself. He watched as Draco opened them and peeked inside. Suddenly he froze, and quickly turned his head towards the door.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, edgily.

"Um, no.." answered Harry, wondering what Malfoy was up to now.

"It sounded like footsteps..." Draco's voice was little more than a whisper.

"So? If it's Snape, what are the odds that he's going to come in here? I doubt he even remembers he has a bathroom!" said Harry, thinking he was being incredibly funny. But just as he said those words, the door to the bathroom opened.

Before Draco even had chance to react, Harry quickly pulled him back, drawing the shower curtain closed in front of them.

Draco looked sharply at the Gryffindor, narrowing his eyes. "Why did you do that!" he hissed. Harry shushed him, placing a finger on the Slytherin's lips. Draco tensed at his touch.

They could both hear Snape walking around the bathroom. "Where's my shampoo?" he muttered. "I was sure I left it on the sink... I swear, if those damned kids have been in here again, I'm going to have them expelled!"

Harry craned his head to look up at Draco, who was about two or three inches taller than he was. His eyes dropped to his finger upon Draco's lips and he quickly removed it when he realised where it was. He turned away, hiding his flushed cheeks from the blonde.

A shadow fell across the shower curtain. Harry followed its movement, nearly gasping out loud when a hand came into view. He took a step back, pressing up against Draco's chest. Both boys watched, wide-eyed, as the hand groped around on the shelf.

As Harry's back pressed into him, Draco suddenly realised he was still holding the bottle he'd picked from the cupboard. He looked down. By some sheer fluke of luck, it was the shampoo. He quickly tore off the paper and placed the bottle within reach of Snape, whose fingers closed around it a second later and withdrew with it. Both boys sighed in relief when Snape moved away again, probably pleased that no insufferable kids had been inside his private chambers.

That had been a close one.

**A/N:** So, did you like it? Hate it? Review and let us know!

Thanks to our wonderful Beta: Jenova, for helping us with our grammar and spelling mistakes.


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